Cornell & Diehl Bayou Morning

A good tobacco, neither powerful as Dunhill Navy Rolls or Three Nuns, nor tasteful as Treasures of Ireland Limerick, but this is something you can smoke everyday and feel comfortable with. All in all it's a light blend considering its components, and never boring because the Perique jumps in and out throughout the bowl.

For now, BM is my VAPER of choice. It's different from the tinned flake version in that the virginias are not stoved. The perique makes it's presence known from the first light just about all the way to the end. If one were to mix Briar Fox and perqiue one could come close to BM. This favorite of mine is fantastic as the first morning smoke with a cup of coffee. Escudo has nothing on this wonderful VAPER. I will always have some on hand.

One of the first tins I bought as a new pipe smoker was Bayou Morning Flake. To this day, out of the twenty or so tins I've smoked, that remains my favorite. I decided to go bulk because I found a website offering the 067 Bayou Morning at 16oz for $25, and I figured the ribbon cut would be mostly familiar to the flake.

I was entirely wrong on that count. The taste here is less sweet and more earthy, which was noticeable from the aroma the moment I opened the package. Although I much rather prefer Haddo's and Escudo's, you should keep in mind that I've only been smoking for a few months now--so my palette likely prefers the more sugary taste of Virginias.

The perique is well proportioned, it lights and burns quite easy and smooth, and is clearly a product of quality. Any smoker with an interest in VA/Perique blends should definitely give this a shot.

But to be honest, it isn't what I was expecting, and I'm getting a bit tired of it all. I've been smoking this stuff religiously now for about two weeks--three to four bowls a day and it seems I'll never quite get done. I guess I was too ambitious..but still, for the price that I paid for this quality blend, I'm more than happy at the results.

This is my first attempt on a Cornell & Diehl blend. I am very fond of Vapers such as Escudo and Elizabethan, and thought therefore I'd try some American stuff. This is very good and very non-British/European..

The unusual cut makes the tobacco hard to prepare and quite difficult to light up, but when that's done, the tobacco burns very slowly and develops deep, musty and dark sub-notes.

It is not very complex. Compared to English Vapers which are much more delicate with their high notes, Bayou is more masculine and rough. The absence of artificial humectants makes C&D appealing to me. This is a nice change of pace for me, and I will be exploring the C&D line some more.

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

Update: 05/16/05. While cooking on the grill I popped the mason jar lid on a year old store of Bayou Morning. This has become an amazingly rich, flavorful, nutty and spicey blend. All cigarette and "thin" tobacco taste is lost to deep and bright flavors. I never had the pleasure of the original Escudo but descriptions of that seem to coincide with the layers of sweet, nutty, and spiced flavors here.

I decided to welcome the first day of summer, 2004, with my first smoke of Bayou Morning. This mix is about a month old now, and I have more aging.

I agree with others that upon loading the pipe, the appearance and aroma seem rather staid. Not the hallmark blast of grassy stewed figs that most perique/VA blends exude.

Upon lighting, there was a slightly sour/bland note. Not promising, I thought. I suspected I had perhaps either gotten a bad batch or stored my sample improperly.

No chance. The smoke soon began pouring out the flavor and aroma of manly man tobacco graced by natural sweetness and just a touch of pepper. It is a supple smoke that awakens the palate. Very few "morning blends" have ended up being so for me. This one, I *could* see as an AM bowl. Not harsh or strong. Halfway through the Perique kicks up but is still flavorful vs. damaging. This weed never once bit or gurgled. SMOOTH.

What amazes me about the world of the pipe is that so many variations on very similar base ingredients can be had. While still VA/Perique, this is markedly differnt from Stratford, Dorchester, 3 Friars, Redwood, and even a powerhouse like Haddo's. This fills that niche for all those who want a very straight forward VA/P smoke without the "refinement" of the UK offerings yet without the devestating strength of perique powerhouse brews.

While I personally may not smoke it all the time (just due to my unfocused tastes), I give it 4 stars due to the quality of ingredients and strength of their composition.

Bayou Morning is good morning, noon and night. Comes ready to smoke in a ribbon cut that is easy to pack and burns well.

The first portion of the smoke is piquant and zesty, as the bright VA and perique sing out their tart, spicy flavors. After a good ash layer is formed, the stoved component adds a mellow sweetness to blend with the now fruity perique and light VA?s zest.

This smooth blend of flavors continues until near the end of the bowl, when the perique overcomes the VA?s and emits a deep stewed fruity flavor to finish the smoke. Very enjoyable finish.

Really good VA/perique with just the right amount of perique spice and virginia flavor. This blend is one of the lightest in terms of perique and would make a good introductory choice for the uninitiated.

This is a pretty good bulk blend from C&D. If you like Virginia-Perique mixtures give this a try. I would recommend a little aging as it is a bit timid when new.

I had a similar experience to SaltySailor, i.e., the first several puffs were great then this blend took a turn south for me. It may have been too much perique and not a heavy ?nic hit.? I gave it a fair chance but the story was the same in several pipes on different days. I found it grew harsh and spicy and it drowned out the pleasurable taste that I experienced in the first several puffs. My palate did not care for what may have been an excess of perique in my sample. If you like perique this is for you, not me.

I rate this tobacco 5.0 out of 10

First of all, this is a very aptly named tobacco. It actually has a sweet aroma that reminded me of a morning on the bayou in Louisiana.

If you are looking for a nice light Va/Per smoke where the Perique doesn't overpower the Va leaf, this could be it.

Not overly complex, this is a good all-day smoke, as advertised.

Like a morning on the bayou, it's relaxed and easy.